A timber transport group for Cumbria has been set up under the auspices of the Timber Transport Forum (TTF) to improve efficiency and sustainability of wood road haulage in the county.
The inaugural meeting of the group, attended by 20 people, was held at forest products specialist AW Jenkinson’s Truckstop in Penrith.
The aim of the new body will be to provide a “forum to improve communication between the forestry sector, timber processors, hauliers and the local authority”. It will be chaired by Richard Scott, logistics manager for sawmiller BSW Timber, and will hold its first meeting in February.
Similar groups already operate in North Yorkshire and Dumfries and Galloway and “across the forested regions of Scotland and Wales”.
“These groups are an effective way of ensuring that wood from our forests can be continue to be brought to market with the minimum of impact on the roads and rural communities,” said TTF project officer Roland Stiven. “In many areas [these have led to] preferred routes for timber being agreed, directing timber onto the most appropriate roads and allowing councils to idenitify priority areas for road improvement and maintenance.”
